From Under The Cork Tree
by C. R. Harris
Summary: " 'So... you're back' Castiel said, more out of politeness than anything, not really looking for an answer. 'Yes' The girl responded, her voice bitter and cold. They glared at each other trying really hard not to murder one another. All while Iris stood by them thinking 'What happened to them' " Rated T for language.
1. 5 Years Earlier

**I'm back! Soooo, what's been happening? I've wanted to write this for a while now, but the stars weren't in the right place. Yep. Stars.**

**Before you read this, just a reminder that I do not own MCL or its characters. Also, when you read this you might think "holy shit, this looks like that super gay (not being homophobic here, it is super gay. Just so you know if you haven't watched it. In it the guys are all like 'fuck no homo. yes homo, don't give a fuck') Free! Iwatobi Swim Club/Eternal Summer!" Well, congratulations friend. I based it on the anime. Good anime. 12/10 would recommend. So much homo. **

**Oh, well, enjoy :)**

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><p>"<em>When they were twelve, they parted ways. People thought that they met again when they were seventeen, but, apparently, shit went down somewhere in between"<em>

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><p><em><strong>Day -1810 (approximately 5 years earlier)<strong>_

It was a beautiful summer day in the small town of Sweet Amoris. The sky was clear and the sun was shining and the park was weirdly empty.

West Hill School had just had a swimming competition that afternoon and the champions of the junior male and the female categories were sitting under a cork tree with their friend Iris in the middle of the park, enjoying the shadow on that warm and sunny day.

Jessica Ramírez was an 11 (and ¾) year old Latina girl. Her dark brown hair was up in a ponytail and her clothes were clinging a little bit to her body. She hugged her trophy partially because she was proud of it, partially in an attempt to keep herself cool with the cold metal of the trophy.

Her best friend, Castiel Parker, was lying in the grass listening to the conversation. Castiel was your typical 12 year old boy – though his jet black hair was a little bit longer than the normal –, he was skinny and his head was too big for his body and he was shorter than Jessica – something that he particularly hated. The fact that he was just listening to the girls talk didn't bother them. Castiel wasn't too fond of speaking.

"I wish I could swim like you guys. You are amazing" Iris said excitedly. Iris was a tall ginger girl, captain of the track team. On the running track she was amazing; on the pool, not so much "I thing Jess is catching up to you Castiel"

"She wishes"

"We'll see when I get back from the US who'll be faster" Jess snapped.

"Still gonna be me"

"I can't believe you're going tomorrow" Iris mumbled sadly.

"We'll keep in touch, don't worry"

"Iris!" Someone called from a few meters behind them.

"That's my mum. I'd better get going" Iris got up and looked at her friend, opening her arms "Hug?"

The latina girl got up to her feet and gave her friend a bone crushing hug, a few tears escaping her eyes "I'm gonna miss you"

"I'll miss you too. Come back soon, okay?"

Iris jogged up to her mother, who waved at Jess, and walked away, out of the park.

"You are such a baby" Castiel told her when she sat back down by his side.

"And you're an idiot" The boy simply rolled his eyes and continued staring at the sky "Are you going to miss me?" Jess asked after a while.

"No" The girl lightly punched him in the shoulder "Of course I am"

"I'll miss you too"

"Good, 'cause if you didn't, my punch wouldn't be nearly as light as yours"

"Do you reckon someday I'll be able to beat you on a race?"

"Nope. I'm the best"

"You are so self-centred! I'm catching up, you know"

"Maybe someday"

The two kids stayed under the cork tree for a while more. They didn't talk, they just looked at the sky. When Castiel grabbed Jess's hand, she didn't pull away. They would stay there forever if they could, but the sun was setting and Jess's plane was leaving early in the morning.

When they parted ways at Jess's front door, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "So you don't forget me" she had told him.

And he didn't.

He always remembered that kiss. And even when years had passed and things had changed he never forgot those moments from under the cork tree.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Please review and tell me!<strong>

**Tune in for the next chapter when shit goes down. Also, I forgot to mention, this will also be based off a Free! parody called 50% OFF. 1000000/10 would recommend**

**Celia out**


	2. Day 1

**Hey guys! So... the chapters of this fic will be a little bit larger, so they'll take more time to come out. Also, you might think after reading this "where's Lys-baby?" and he'll show up soon! Cassy doesn't know him yet. Trust me, I have plans!**

**I hope you enjoy this, please review if you did :3**

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><p><strong>Day 1<strong>

Castiel had gotten to a point in his life where he thought that if he managed to get to thirty years old it would be a fucking miracle. He thought his life expectancy was so low, a starving sub Saharan child had better chances than him. He could still reverse his situation, he just didn't want to.

He was seventeen and smoked all day long, he kind of maybe was addicted to prescription drugs (maybe), and most weekends were the same: he would drink all throughout Friday night and Saturday, pass out in a pool of his own vomit on Sunday, wake up 4am on Monday, take more painkillers than the prescription demanded, sleep and wake up two hours late for school.

When Castiel was 14 he also stopped swimming competitively. He still swam in the summer, but he was out of shape. He was still the fastest swimmer around, but, considering the way he swam when he was younger, Castiel should be faster.

When you're 10 they call you a prodigy; when you're 15 you are "amazingly good"; when you're 20 you are ordinary. 3 years to go; Castiel Parker couldn't wait to be ordinary.

It was the 1st September and he should be getting ready for the first day of school. He _should, _meaning he was _actually_ sitting in his bathtub thinking about life.

Suddenly, the doorbell started ringing. Castiel simply submerged completely in the bathtub.

"Castiel" Iris called from the front door "Are you home? It's me! Iris"

Castiel put his head deeper in the water until it touched the bottom of the bathtub.

"Okay, I'm gonna break in" The girl warned. A few minutes passed and there was a knock on the bathroom door "Castiel, are you here?"

The boy poked his head out of the water to say "Don't come in"

"Alright, I'm coming in. Also, you're going to need a new back door"

Castiel poked his head out of the water to look at his friend, who was slightly crouched and offering him a hand. "I broke in again" She said, smiling.

"Why can't you just use your spare key?"

"You never gave me one"

"I don't see your point"

"Just get out of the tub"

He grabbed Iris' hand and pulled himself up and out of the tub.

"Why are you wearing a swimsuit in the bath?" Iris asked pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Because I fucking want to" He replied, causing the girl to sigh.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late for school. I mean, not that you care, but I do"

Iris was telling him a story on the way to school, that actually seemed pretty interesting, though he was only half listening to it.

"—I mean, at this point I'm just crying in the backseat. Kim tells me we have to return the panda to the zoo, and that's when the breaks go out. So, the guy—"

"_And Iris is still talking. Still talking. Still. Talking"_

"Castiel, are you even listening?"

"Yep"

"You're an idiot, did you know that?"

"Yep"

"You're just gonna say 'yep' to everything I say, aren't you?"

"Yep"

"Jesus Christ"

"Yep"

"You are madly in love with Dajan from the basketball team, aren't you?"

"Yep—wait what?"

"You are hopeless"

"You've known me for like 10 years; I'm amazed that you only noticed that now"

"I noticed that a long time ago, if that makes you feel better about yourself"

"It does, thank you"

"Hey, um… why didn't you show up for the opening assembly yesterday?"

"Called in sick"

"You have to stop doing that"

"You telling me to stop doing it is not going to make me stop doing it"

Iris started talking again – something about their new English teacher and how weird she apparently was – but Castiel just stopped listening again. Instead, he just stared at the ocean, thinking about swimming.

"Don't worry, the cold will pass soon" Iris reassured him "You'll be able to swim in no time"

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><p>Ms Ramsey was their new English teacher; the one Iris said was a bit odd. She was small and had a kind voice and wore grandma clothes, even though she was 27, had a full sleeve and blue highlights in her hair. Castiel didn't pay much attention to her class either.<p>

The next thing he knew, it was already time for lunch. Iris was dragging him towards the courtyard and Kim joined them halfway through.

"I didn't bring lunch" Castiel told them.

"You can buy it" Suggested Iris.

"Here, you can have some of mine" Kim offered him a slice of her tuna sandwich. Kim was also an old friend of Castiel. She was in the swimming club with him, Jess and another girl called Violette when they were younger. She was almost as tall as Castiel and one of the prettiest girls in school; black skin, black hair, big hazel eyes. She also had the most amazing backstroke ever.

"Thanks"

"Kimmy! Cas!" Someone called from behind them. They turned around to find a petit girl, who had porcelain skin and lilac hair "It's been forever! I enrolled here in Sweet Amoris High just to be with you guys! You too Iris"

"Kimmy?" Kim asked confused.

"Cas?" Castiel asked, equally confused. A few seconds passed before both teenagers widened their eyes and spoke in unison "Violette?"

The girl simply smiled shyly and nodded.

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><p>"How many years has it been?" Kim asked Violette, who was now sitting at their table "Four? I think it is, I haven't seen you since the swimming club was shut down"<p>

"I went to a boarding school these past few years. Oh look" Violette pointed somewhere near the gymnasium "There's cherry blossoms near the pool! Weren't there cherry blossom trees near the pool in our old school too, Cas?"

"Can you stop calling me that?"

"But that's your name, Cas"

"That pool is old and is not in use" Iris intervened, saving Violette from Castiel's anger "There's no swim club as well"

"Really?" The younger teenager turned to Castiel "Where do you swim then?"

"I stopped swimming competitively" The scarlet haired boy told her.

"What? Why did you stop? I was really looking forward to swimming with you"

"We're not twelve anymore. Things aren't the way they used to be"

"Hey, he stopped swimming competitively, but he didn't stop swimming altogether" Kim told her "During the summer, he swims in the ocean. And he loves water! He would sleep in his bathtup if he could"

Violette then started pestering Castiel with ideas for clubs that included being in the water (water polo, hot springs, water balloon fight) and Kim and Iris just snickered at every excuse Castiel made up.

During one of this moments, Kim realised there was someone staring at them. He was probably a 11th year student. His skin was kind of dark and his hair was brown and messy. His brown eyes were big and reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite figure out who.

When they were going back to classes, Iris had an idea.

"Hey, I heard you old swimming club is getting torn down. We should go there and see it one last time tonight"

"Yeah, it would be fun. You know, relive old memories" Violette said quietly.

"Go by yourselves" Castiel told them.

"Why? Don't you think it will be fun?" Iris asked him

"Nope"

"You guys have to know how to convince him"

"I'm not going, too much effort"

"There's a pool there" You could see the wheels turning in his head "A pool is bigger than your bathtub"

"Okay, fine"

"Are we sure about this?"

"I thought you were all for it, Violette" Iris said.

"It's just… it feels wrong, you know? The four of us going there without Jess"

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><p><em>5 years earlier<em>

"_I'm not gonna live here anymore" Jess told her friends. They were in front of a cork tree by the pool. There were leaves on the floor and they were the only ones there. Castiel was staring at her with wide eyes._

"_Huh? What do you mean?" Violette asked_

"_I'm going to the US"_

"_The US… as in a different country?" It was Kim's turn to ask._

"_Yep. I'm going to a swimming school there. I'm leaving the day after the tournament"_

_All of them, except Jess, were staring at Castiel. Castiel, on the other hand was staring at one of the brick in the flowerbed in front of them. The one where Jess had written "For The Team"_

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><p>"This place is pretty trashed" Iris noted, looking at the wall of the building that had chirped painting and loads of graffiti.<p>

"Some people say it's haunted" Kim said casually.

"What?!" Violette gasped "Good thing I thought about it and brought some salt to purify us"

Violette started throwing salt on them until Castiel asked "Violette, what are you doing?"

"Salt makes it so that ghosts can't possess us"

"Amazing. But that is sugar"

"Oh. Well, I think this is more of a subconscious thing so it should work the same. Right?"

The inside of the swimming club was just as trashed as the outside. There were knocked over furniture and moss on the walls.

"This turned from a walk down memory lane to the beginning of a horror film really fast" Kim commented "Thank god I'm not white, so I'm not dying. You three though are so fucked"

"Shut up, Kim!" Iris snapped.

"Hey, guys" Violette called "Look at this"

She was staring at a wall covered in photos of swimming teams. Right in the centre was a picture of theirs. A younger Violette was hugging younger Castiel, smiling wide. Younger Kim was leaning on Jess with a smirk on her lips. Jess had an arm around younger Castiel and was holding a trophy smiling like she had just been told the world's greatest joke. Castiel was looking to the side and did not smile.

"Let's go see the pool" Kim said suddenly.

"Yeah. Let's go" Castiel murmured and went with them, though he didn't want to take his eyes off the photo.

It was when they were passing by the lockers that they noticed a shadow coming towards them and realised they were not alone.

It was a girl. She was short – maybe 5'3 – and had purple maroon hair. Her eyes were hidden by her hoodie, but, when she took it off, they could see they were hazel.

That's when Castiel recognized her. And so did the others.

"Jess!" Violette exclaimed and hugged her old friend.

"What are you doing here little girl?" Kim asked

"Must be fate" Violette suggested. Jess was still scowling "Some unseen force must have—"

"Castiel" Jess called "You still hang out with this lot? I guess you'll never learn"

"What about you?" Castiel was also scowling "Have you learned anything?"

"I'm glad you asked. Wanna race?"

"Fine"

It took the other girls a moment to figure out what was happening, but when they did, Castiel and Jess were already in their swimsuits.

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! What are you doing?" Kim asked.

"You guys can't race here!" Violette warned.

"Of course we can" Castiel told her.

"No, you really can't. The pool is empty!" said Iris pointing her flashlight towards the pool so they could see it themselves.

Jess murmured "lame" under her breath and began to leave. She stopped at the door frame and showed them the photo of them that was previously hanging at the wall.

"Oh, I got this on the way here. Thought that you might want it. I don't need it" She dropped it on the floor and glass smashed. Violette looked like she could cry.

"Jess" She called.

"She's kind of… changed" said Kim.

Iris looked over at Castiel, who was staring at their old friend walk away.

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><p>"A… dream?" Castiel suggested.<p>

"It wasn't a dream!" Violette told him "We got arrested for trespassing! We went to jail!"

"Nah, mate. We went to holding. There's a big difference" Kim explained.

"We only got out because your friend paid bail"

"Yeah, now we owe Easter Dave a favour. That's not a position you wanna be in"

"Well, anyway, this means Jess is back. Do you think she goes to our school?"

"Wouldn't we have seen her by now? She's kind of hard to miss"

"We could look it up in the school files"

And that's how they found themselves sneaking into the teacher's lounge on their free period with the key Castiel stole from Nathaniel.

After 10 minutes searching, Iris screamed "I found it"

"Really?" Asked Kim.

"Yeah, look here—wait… Ramírez coma… Duncan?"

"I don't think that's her"

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><p><strong>Shout out to Easter Dave<strong>


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